Game of Thrones: Broadswords and Beasties

Three episodes left of season five - indefinite episodes until the show
stops making money for HBO and ends
"Let's Rock!" - The Man From Another Place, Twin Peaks, S01E03




It's been six episodes since I last wrote about Game of Thrones. With the conclusion of Mad Men and all the craziness and excitement about Survivor of recent, I've had HBO's fantasy epic on the backburner. However, with all of that at an end, and the Spring season approaching its end in about three weeks, much like Jorah to Daenerys, it's time for me to return!

Since we're on that subject, let's talk some Mereen, Tyrion, and dragons!

Daenerys has always been the center of the show in many ways. Yes, she's rather unconnected to the goings on of Westeros, but the evolution of Danny from a girl to a woman to a queen to a hopeful frontrunner for the Iron Throne has been a major plot point for all of the shows run. While in past seasons, we dealt with Daenerys growing up as a human, these episodes have been all about her evolution as a leader. Managing a city like Mereen, something foreign to her more Western sensibilities, has been a struggle. With the Sons of the Harpy plaguing her armies, Ser Barristan the Bold sadly being slain, and annoyingly common scenes of Daario Naharis giving her advice after banging her, things aren't quite as upwards for Danny as they once her. On top of that, her actual position in the world is a bit stagnant. As Queen of Mereen and marrying into their royalty, one would think that she would remain there indefinitely. However, we all know that the show is about the Iron Throne, and keeping such a central character away from Westeros only to have her stay away would be silly. Sooner or later, Danny must leave Mereen to enter the central politics of the plot. It's how that'll happen that is key.

Wait - wrong fantasy epic with these two actors.
The key to that progression may be Tyrion Lannister. Unlike past seasons, Tyrion has not been the most interesting aspect of these episodes. After traveling with Lord Varys a bit, he was kidnapped by the world-weary Jorah Mormont. At the end of episode seven, they finally reconnected with Daenerys. Where this will lead is an interesting subject. On the one hand, with a Lannister name allied to her, the last surviving Targaryan now has a united force to enter into Westeros with. On the other, Tyrion is a dwarf with a bounty on his head. Not exactly a bastion of political power. Additionally, the stoneskin-contracted Jorah is back in the mix, adding another wild card to the deck. The question surrounding this area of the show is when? While it's nice to see the dragons and to see Danny evolve as a leader of Mereen, we must get some kind of real progression in the storyline. Hopefully, the plot will be moved along instead of wallowing in exposition, allowing us to actually see the endgame of the show begin, slowly but surely, to take shape.
Oh - and side note, how awesome was Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in the last two episodes? Here's hoping he comes back in later episodes.

In King's Landing, the war between Cirsei Lannister and Margaery Tyrell has evolved to divine levels. The Sparrows, a group of religious zealots led by the fanatical High Sparrow (played wonderfully by Jonathan Pryce,) have been employed by Cirsei to imprison Margaery and her brother, usurping all power for herself. This has brought out the great Olenna Tyrell to join the fray, and illustrate just how useless and weak a leader Tommen Baratheon is. However, with the Sparrows turning on Cirsei in the most recent episode, the door has been left open to any alliances, and quite a many deaths.
Badass of the show. 

This plotline has been quite intriguing thus far. The religious fanatics provide a hate-able villain, The High Sparrow is an interesting head, and the added layers to the female-driven power struggle has worked. Cirsei is a central antagonist of the show, but on a very human level. She is selfish and power-hungry, just as the Tyrell family is. We cheer for Margaery and Olenna because they stand against those who killed our protagonist Starks (also because Natalie Dormer,) but in an overall sense, they are all shades of gray. The wonderful thing about Game of Thrones is that aside from villains like White Walkers, Stone Men, or the Sparrows, most of the quote on quote villains and heroes all want the same goal: power. Yes, Roose and Ramsay Bolton are more cruel than the Starks or the Baratheons, but they all seek the same achievements. Thus, the conflict in King's Landing shows us the lengths our characters will go in order to maintain their positioning. The Sparrows will inevitably be defeated, but whether it be by an alliance between Olenna and Petyr Baelish, a Margaery-Cirsei alliance, or Tommen's army is the question.

Let's head up North, shall we? Between Sansa's new hubby, the incoming Baratheon-Bolton war, and Jon Snow and Tormund Giantsbane's trek to Hardhome, there's a lot to talk about.

First of all, let's just put it out there - Stannis Baratheon has been the best part about this season. He has always been an intriguing character - a bulwark of justice and hardheadedness, as well as a way for us to watch Davos Seaworth, it wasn't until this season that he's come out of his shell as more than a representation. Stannis is on his way to take the North from the Boltons, another group of major villains in this season. After helping Castle Black to defeat the Wildlings, it is time for Stannis to take back Winterfell from the flayers of skin. The war will probably occur in the next episode or two, but the real outbreak was Stannis's humanization. When talking to his stoneskin-surviving daughter, we see that though a son is customary for the lords of Westeros, Stannis has learned to accept those related to him. He even denies Melisandre when she asks to sacrifice her to the Lord of Light. We can only hope that this newfound characterization lasts Stannis longer than his war against the Boltons. While he may not be everyone's favorite, a Baratheon rightfully does deserve the throne, and as the last true Baratheon, technically the throne is his.

Counteracting the word "humanization" is the Boltons. Ramsay has only gotten worse with time. From raping Sansa to his continued antagonizing of Theon, Ramsay Bolton has shown himself to be worse than Joffrey. He is a true psychopath. Thus, when his throat is finally cut, it will be all the more satisfying. As war approaches and internal struggles around Sansa come into view with Brienne, it seems only a matter of time before the fox-faced lunatic is killed. His father, the ever-pragmatic Roose Bolton is sure to meet a similar fate, but with his negotiation skills, may evade slightly more.

"Fewer."
However, the true intrigue in the Warden of the North, to me anyway, is my favorite character, Petyr Baelish. He has been playing both sides since the show began, and now with the ostensible support of Cirsei, Baelish has negotiated his way into the prospect of Warden of the North. He cares little about whether Stannis or Roose wins out, but rather who's throat will be easier to slit once the war is won. The rise to power of Baelish is incredible - from conniving Master of Coin to Warden of the North could potentially lead to King of Westeros, judging by how LittleFinger has been playing the game. Thus far, his plans have been genius, and without a soul catching on to his manipulation, our resident schemer continues his dominance over the playing field.

Finally, we come to Arya Stark and Jamie Lannister. Neither of these plots have been given a ton of time this season, but as the season comes to an end, hopefully drama will ramp up. Bronn has been highly entertaining and Arya continues to feel like she will matter in the near future, but without proper screentime, these plots have slipped a bit through the cracks.

To conclude, it's time for power rankings! The ten most interesting characters heading into the final three episodes of the season!

10. Arya Stark - Arya has stagnated a bit in recent weeks. Though still interesting as to when she will finally become a Braavosi powerhouse, her relevance to the central plot is waning, and this season is just not all that invested in her plotline.
9. Doran Martell - Doran is the centerpiece of the Dornish plot. Whether he will side with Ellaria Sand or Jamie Lannister is the true question. Picking war or peace for House Martell will be a very important point to look at, especially in the next season. If the Lannisters have yet another enemy, especially one as formidable as the Martells, war will be coming in from yet another side.
8. Margaery Tyrell - Margaery has been conquered by Cirsei, yet as Cirsei's fighters begin to close in on her, Margaery becomes more of a side point in the story than a prime piece. She will still have major effects on the power landscape of Westeros, but currently her place is rather overshadowed by that of Cirsei.
7. Tyrion Lannister - Tyrion would have dropped more spots previous to last night's episode. Now that he is actually with Daenerys, how this alliance will shake out is a major factor of the show.
6. Jorah Mormont - Jorah could go anywhere. He could die from stoneskin next episode, go back by Danny's side, or scorn her forever and join and go back to the Lannisters. His possibilities are endless, making for some interesting prospects in the coming hours.
5. Daenerys Targaryan - Danny has many decisions to make; decisions that could affect the way the leadership of Westeros sways. Jorah and Tyrion are at the epicenter of this, but her allegiance the Mereenese people is also in question.
4. Theon Greyjoy - Theon skyrockets up the rankings due to his recent weeks. While we still know him as Theon, Reek's allegiances lie in question. Just how broken is he? Will he eventually snap back to his old self and kill Ramsay or will he wallow in what he is currently and die in a mire of self-loathing?
3. Stannis Baratheon - From his humanizing qualities, his oncoming war against the Boltons, and the new conflict with Melisandre's advice, Stannis is in the middle of multiple fascinating plotlines. Hopefully he wins his war so we continue to get to watch him.
2. Cirsei Lannister - Cirsei is probably the center of the Game of Thrones main plot. She holds the power of Westeros, is in direct conflict with the Sparrows, Tyrells, and all other families attempting to grab power, and is now in a nearly fatal situation. How will she move going forward?
1. Petyr Baelish -  Once again, Little Finger tops the rankings. He is double and triple crossing the rest of our characters, is elusive in allegiance to all those but himself, and with the oncoming war in the north, adds the biggest X factor of the show.

That's it for now, but there will be more Game of Thrones coverage after the finale! Go Stannis!

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